Vodacom reach agreement to buy Neotel for R7 billion

This looks good on paper but I can't see it as good for the customer in real life
 
From my perspective, I believe Neotel has achieved very little in the country. They did not compete with Telkom and just filled a few gaps where they could.

Goodbye and you will not be missed.

Good luck to Vodacom. Please compete with Telkom and offer more at less.
 
And on a side note, employ local people in this country and not imports who have no idea how things work here.
 
Press statement from Neotel

The shareholders of Neotel and Vodacom SA have announced today that they have favourably concluded an agreement on the commercial structure and terms to proceed for Vodacom to acquire 100 per cent of the shares of Neotel valued at an enterprise value of R 7.0 billion. This follows the announcement late last year that the parties were entering into exclusive talks for a due diligence.

The structure of the deal and its commercial terms remain subject to regulatory and competition authority approvals and the parties will be immediately commencing the necessary processes in that regard.

Sunil Joshi, MD & CEO of Neotel says, “We are encouraged at the progress made to date and will focus now on ensuring compliance with the regulatory approvals processes and the engagement with the competition authorities. Neotel continues to grow in the South African market and with this, when approved, will enable a greater choice of product and services for our customers and increased competition, while Neotel continues to deliver improved services and grows its customer base.“

Kennedy Memani, Nexus Connexion says, “This transaction will impact the landscape of the Telecommunications industry in South Africa. We believe it will enhance the customer experience and benefit the South African public.”
 
I went ahead and translated Vodacom's statement...

"he....he...mu....hu....He, he, he, Mwha, mhwha, MHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"
 
Vodacom should just do what Telkom COULD have done, years ago... Bundle voice and data packages with flat monthly rates and at prices reasonable to the market. The fact that the majority in this country are not connected to the net, speaks volumes. Arguments about costs and infrastructure limitations etc are no longer relevant and it's all about archaic regulations and lack of will.

If we can get world class internet to the masses, then you will see this country grow. People sort themselves out most of the time.
 
The devil will be in the details.... spectrum?

Telkom must be pissed about this! Their former cash cow is now a full competitor...

As MickeyD says, details---> spectrum. To me there are plenty of ways to easily get around the various rules ICASA may put up, as I noted before on how I think Telkom should have approached the wireless market, VC can create a VMNO to run on the Neotel network, Neotel can get VC to run their radio network (kind of like Telkom has now moved towards with MTN after burning money for along time).

I wonder if IS/Didata will buy Cell C to really make a 4 operator market?
 
This could be quite positive, Neotel hasn't really reached the consumer with all the cable they have put down, Vodacom might be able to use its reach to get the consumer more benefit.
 
Neotel never where a contender on the consumer front, so I cant see the consumer losing here.
 
“The combination of Neotel’s and Vodacom’s networks will improve overall network availability and reduce the cost to serve customers,” Vodacom said.
I bet not a cent of the reduced cost will translate into cost savings for the very same customers.
 
Sad day for the consumer and industry

+1 . Vodacom with new Neotel spectrum will slowly and surely kill Telkom. Hope ICASA or Competition authorities will not approve this.
As In the Cube states on the other page, Telkom and Gov delayed and frustrated Neotel. Neotel never came from the ground to compete properly with Telkom in the consumer space.

We should rather implement LLU ASAP.
 
Basically, if done right, Vodacom has this countries future in it's hands. Literally. They can do the right thing and make us internet competitive and get connectivity to the masses at a reasonable charge. They can be the facilitator of new content creation and content distribution. Something Telkom and the regulators should have done years ago.

Or they can mess it up, and keep us in the dark ages while the rest of Africa and the world, leaves us in their collective dust.
 
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